Convergence Ready For You

Your Special Time to Breakaway

Gone are the days of hugging and shouting at Convergences, squeezing into a venue to hear a great speaker or being tousled by the crowd to see something amazing.

Fortunately, the Australian Permaculture Convergence is bravely holding space for you to participate in something amazing. The program is loaded with diversity and interesting discussion. Every convergence needs diversity. And best of all, your enthusiasm counts.

If you live in Australia, here are 5 great reasons to buy your tickets, pack your bag and venture out again. The time is ripe in Australia. The scene is set for a great convergence.

So, come along to celebrate natures abundance – 12 April to 15 April 2021

Maybe you have become quite comfortable with staying at home. Here are 5 good reasons to make a special break and converge once again.

1. Broaden Your Reach

The best reason for going to conferences is to meet with likeminded people and peers on a level footing. Convergences bring together people from all different climates and experiences with common needs and discoveries. They are a great way to meet new people and get a feel for how other people respond to challenges.

As usual, the permaculture convergence will welcome you to sit with people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. As you build new connections you can reconnect with people you haven’t seen for a while and discover where their dreams led them. In fact, each convergence can feel like the chance to open a time-capsule full of inventions and ideas.

• Linda Woodrow, Author of 470 presents – Imagined Futures: The role of imagining in creating the world we want
• David Holmgren – Permaculture and the climate emergency in the Australian context 
• Robina McCurdy – Empowering Bioregional Food Sovereignty
• Stuart Andrews – Natural Sequence Farming 
• Starhawk – Earth Activist Training

2. Convergences Expand Our Mindset

You will hear a lot about new approaches and techniques, learn from elders and listen to the newest faces starting out in Permaculture.

Bunya Halasz –

Successional Agroforestry – an Exploration of Humid Tropical and Subtropical Systems 

Of course, convergences give us the opportunity to ask presenters questions about their work and the rationale behind it, which you can’t do when reading journal articles or watching a video. As a result, convergences are authentic and interactive.

• John Champagne, Jed Walker and the Permafund team – Permafund – microgrants for community projects worldwide
• Michael Wardle – Trees, their needs, and the myths of dynamic accumulators
• Virginia Solomon – Designing Permaculture Jobs
• Andrew Pengelly – Bush Medicine Walk – Wednesday W2

• Shane Sylvanspring & Trudy Juriansz – Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) principles and Permaculture principles
• Tim Barker – Appropriate Technology for Resilience 
• Tom Kendall- Design elements of a functioning biodigester in Australia
• Charlie Brennan – Sensing Place – hearing trees and rivers
• Robin Clayfield – Growing Community – Abundant Tools for Dynamic Groups, Effective Collaboration and Empowered Action

3. Collaborate

You don’t have to be a formal presenter, you talk to people about what you are doing, share ideas in workshops, add energy to a group or get feedback with a mentor over lunch. Talking about what we do with others offers ideas and energy to future generations.

• Robyn Francis – Fair Share in the Anthropocene,
  Emma Brindal – Fostering Earth Care in folks of all ages,
  Fionn & Laura Quinlan – Families in Transition – Sharing Land & Visions,
  Nick Radford – A Permaculture Language,
  Shaoying Wang & April Sampson-Kelly – Designing a Chinese Village with Permaculture
• Mark Jones & Billa Lauiti-Kolkr – Working with First Nations Custodians- a Discourse for Permaculture Leaders
  Erin Young – Sociocracy: Shared Leadership for Positive Impact
  Helen Schwencke – Inviting Nature to Dinner – How to grow food and support the little guys ( with Dick Copeman)

4. Convergences help us Smile

“It isn’t work if you’re having fun” said a great environmentalist lecturer Ted Trainer. Creative energy is vital for innovation. And Permaculture is always innovative. Our designs relate to the here and now as well as planning for next generations. It is here that we can enjoy the challenge of building a cleaner future for all. As a result, our interactions at convergences help pioneer our Care of People practices.

• Victoria Holder – Hidden permaculture in hospitality & why you don’t know about it
• Dominique Chen – Decolonising Food Yarn
• Jane Milburn – Permaculture your wardrobe
• Ko Oishi – Northey Street City Farm – 25 years of design exploring opportunities and constraints

5. Synergise

Many minds make light work. The exchange of information during a convergence bears many fruits and build a brighter future.

• Dick Copeman – Responding & adapting to climate change – a permaculture perspective
• Morag Gamble – Permaculture Education Futures
• Elisabeth Fekonia – Ferment your Food 
• Carly Garner – Inspiring NextGen Earth Stewards
• Megan McGowan – Permaculturing our Permaculture: A case study
• Beck Lowe – Retrosuburbia 101

‘So why attend? Can’t I read about the convergence later or watch the video?’ Well you might ask. In truth, a convergence is something that you feel, see, hear, taste and interact to enjoy. In the end, it is like going to the beach. You smell and hear the surf, you feel the rush of cold water and sand goes everywhere. After all, a video of the ocean never feels the same as being there.

For those of you who can’t attend. We will keep the team spirit pumping. For those of you who are packing already – See you there!